Poppy seeds are a wonderful ingredient to have in your storecupboard. Used in this dressing they give a lovely blue-black and peppery freckle to the salad ingredients and contrast beautifully with the avocado and pink grapefruit. Use in pancake batters and cakes, or on mirin-glazed aubergine.

Ingredients

Quantity

Ingredient

1

small red onion, finely sliced

1 tablespoon

white wine vinegar or lemon juice

1 tablespoon

poppy seeds

1 teaspoon

runny honey

1 teaspoon

dijon mustard

3 tablespoons

olive oil

1/2 teaspoon

each of salt

1/2 teaspoon

freshly ground black pepper

2-3

ripe avocados

200g

baby spinach leaves, rinsed and dried

2

pink grapefruit, peeled and segmented or sliced into thick rounds, (remove as much pith as you can, but don’t let it worry you too much; I don’t mind it)

Method

Put the onion into a bowl with the vinegar and leave to macerate for 5 minutes. Drain the onion, reserving the vinegar, and put to one side.

Put the vinegar, poppy seeds, honey, mustard, oil, salt, and pepper into a jar with a lid and shake to blend and for the flavours to mingle.

Peel, stone and slice the avocados.

Just before serving, place the spinach in a large bowl and toss with half the dressing. Add the avocado, grapefruit and macerated onion and drizzle with the remaining dressing to serve.